This modest home
in Saint Paul’s Highland neighborhood was designed by architect Edwin Lundie in
1935 for two spinster sisters; it had never left the family. Just as one would expect, it was a millwork
masterpiece inside, but, like many pre-WWII houses, suffered from
claustrophobia. The new owners, one of
whom rebuilds vintage wood speedboats in his retirement and recognizes
craftsmanship when he sees it, understood the challenges and expectations of
remodeling this home.

The former kitchen was
isolated from the rest of the first floor, with just two tight openings. We opened it up to the front room, salvaging
and reinstalling built-ins elsewhere. We
designed most new cabinetry to look like furniture. The living room received a French door to
connect it to an existing terrace in the backyard. The original narrow one-car garage was
requisitioned for a spacious mudroom, pantry, and powder room; the laundry was
moved upstairs to an alcove off the kitchen.
A new two-car garage, with ample attic storage, was built in place of
the former driveway, connected to the house with a pergola. On the second floor, the sisters’ bilateral
bedroom became a smaller owners’ bedroom, allowing for a generous walk-in-closet. Space borrowed from back-to-back closets was
added to the existing bathroom to create a large bath suite. All rooms in the house were re-plastered, and
all millwork was repaired and repainted.
Mechanicals were updated and the house was super-insulated.